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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. craft — a skill
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — of a king
  9. craft — boats
  10. drill — army training
  11. sharp — clever
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fall — to drop
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. fall — the season
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com